If you insist on being technical about it, Game 5 isn’t a must-win assignment for your St. Louis Blues. Should the home team have Friday night ruined by the Blackhawks at Scottrade Center, there’s still a tomorrow.

Win or lose, there will be a Game 6 played Sunday afternoon in Chicago. That’s nice. But if the Blues go down in Game 5, they’ll be in serious trouble. They know it. You know it. And most of all, the Blackhawks know it too.

This best-of-seven Midwestern rumble is tied at two games apiece heading into the pivotal fifth meeting. If the Blues win, they’ll go up three games to two, maintain their home-ice advantage, and restore any confidence lost during the consecutive defeats in Chicago in Games 3 and 4. If the Blues prevail in Game 5, they’ll have two chances to put the Blackhawks away.

If the Blues lose Game 5, they’ll immediately get boxed into a space where they don’t want to be. It is a place filled with anxiety, doubt and depressing memories of past playoff failures. It is a spot where current and former Blues must confront their worst fears, staring at an inevitable elimination.

If the Blues fall Friday night, they can head to the United Center, upset the Blackhawks in Game 6, and lug this huge, sprawling, jagged series back to St. Louis for Game 7. That’s doable, yes. But is it likely?

This tormented Blues’ nucleus has lost its last seven postseason road games. Two at Los Angeles in 2012, three in LA last year, and two at Chicago this week. Given that pattern, the Blues don’t want to put themselves into position of having to win at Chicago.

To capture this series, the Blues have to protect and defend their house. It’s that simple. If the Blues win Game 5, they’re guaranteed a Game 7 at home (if necessary). If the Blues surrender Game 5, then nothing is guaranteed. This blood feud could end by sundown Sunday.

The visitors will be wired Friday night. The Blackhawks surely have noted the Blues’ sorry postseason history, and the inherent vulnerability that comes with it. The Blackhawks have to sense that this is a wide-open opportunity to invade Scottrade and send the Blues spiraling.

All of the pressure is on the Blues in this one. Chicago has won two Stanley Cups since 2010, and no one can take that away. The Blues do not have the luxury of rationalization. They cannot draw comfort from past trophies. Another early postseason exit — especially at the hands of their rivals — would be devastating.

The Blues were in this spot a year ago. They opened a first-round series by winning two close ones from Los Angeles at home, then lost two at LA. Still discouraged by the lost trip to SoCal, the Blues were pushed into the hole by a demoralizing loss to the Kings in Game 5. The Blues couldn’t recover and got tossed from the tournament in Game 6.

The Blues are facing the same scenario again, and the time has come to see what they’ve learned, and how much they’ve progressed.

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock doesn’t run from the reality of the situation. Instead, the salty old coach wants his players to embrace the challenge. He wants to see if his players developed calluses over the past two postseasons.

“It’s a big time for us,” Hitchcock said Thursday. “We’re trying to slay the dragon, I guess you could say. We’re trying to prove that we belong in the top echelon. And we’ve been in this situation two years in a row, and we want to push through and come out the other side. So we’re pouring everything we can into it.”

This isn’t supposed to be easy. The Blues are marching on without captain David Backes, who is still trying to clear his head after Brent Seabrook’s illegal hit and run in Game 2. Backes’ status is uncertain for Game 5.

The Blues have welcomed back two of their injured, forwards T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund. But they’re not the same. Oshie is a minus three in his three games; Berglund was minus four in the two losses at Chicago.

Though the Blues have been the more physical team as calculated by the total number of hits, the Blackhawks’ sorties have inflicted more damage.

Playoff hockey does not care about your adversity. Playoff hockey insists that you win with what you have. And if you can’t do that, then good riddance. Go home.

This thrilling series has everyone tied in knots and begins anew in St. Louis on Friday night. The Blues have to win Game 5 to get ahead of the Blackhawks. And the Blues have to win Game 5 to get ahead of their own past.

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